"Mother Sea"

Audio Antihero

Artists:

A Los Angeleno named Tyler, barely out of his teens, airing out his demons through caustic, self-loathing lyrics and homemade homages to one of the most influential auteurs of the early 21st century. Despite those similarities, 21-year old Tyler Taormina bears little to no resemblance to his fellow Odd Futurenamesake, as the musician behind Cloud sounds closer to the dramatic monomania of Bright Eyes' Lifted... rather than In Search Of... and he's more likely to admit "grudges are never worth it" than to make an entire album about his grudges. "Mother Sea" is the centerpiece of Cloud's astoundingly accomplished debut Comfort Songs, and it's a tidy summation of Taormina's opposing impulses towards artistic extroversion and emotional introversion.

He wants to be alone and knows that's the worst possible thing for him-- his voice cracks as he sings, "Keep me away from my computer/ For it only disappoints me/ In the car I felt your lightness/ But I can only be so heavy." While hundreds of mopey dudes have taken lyrical cues from Conor Oberst only to end up with entitled, barely listenable complaint-folk, a precious few understand that the most effective way to transcend mere LiveJournal musical theater is to invite all your friends over to make verbal self-flagellation a public affair, as "Mother Sea" holistically integrates pianos, horns and fuzzy drums create a textured, warm arrangement that's fussed over just enough. It all flows easily until the climactic midpoint where Taormina looks at himself and screams, "the mirror yells, 'I'm ready to love myself!'," leading into a martial, percussive breakdown, taking his black parade out of the basement and into the streets.